The Steadfast Love of the Lord

Order of Service

• Scripture Reading — Psalm 89:15-18
• Sermon
• Pastoral Prayer

---

Sermon Title: From Everlasting to Everlasting

Scripture: Psalm 89:15-18

I. The Way of Praise — Psalm 89:15-16

• A. Joy: Knowing the Festal Shout (Psalm 89:15a)

  1. Israel observed seven annual festivals covering the whole calendar year — Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Feast of Tabernacles.
  2. These festivals celebrated both God's physical provision (harvest festivals) and spiritual provision (redemptive acts such as the Exodus and atonement of sin).
  3. The blessed are not merely cultural participants; they truly know — from the heart — the meaning and joy behind the festivities, just as Easter Sunday worshipers differ from mere cultural observers.

• B. A Life Lived Before God: Walking in the Light of His Face (Psalm 89:15b)

  1. "Walk" is a scriptural metaphor for daily, lifelong obedience — following the path of righteousness rather than wickedness (cf. Psalm 1).
  2. Those inclined to the Lord bask in the light of his countenance; those walking in darkness flee from it.
  3. Blessing belongs not merely to those who make a shout on festival days (Sunday), but to those who walk with the Lord every day of the week.

• C. A Life of Exalting and Being Exalted (Psalm 89:16)

  1. The blessed exalt God all day long — placing him on his proper throne in every sphere of life — following the pattern of the heavenly host and the creation itself in the preceding stanzas.
  2. Those who exalt God are promised exaltation in return: 1 Samuel 2:30 ("He who honors me, I will honor") and John 12:26 ("If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him").
  3. This is not slavish duty — God adds the remarkable promise that those who put him in his proper place will be honored before the world and even before the heavenly host.

II. The Why of Praise — Psalm 89:17-18

• A. He Is the Glory of Our Strength (Psalm 89:17a)

  1. The emphasis falls on you and their: God is the glory of the strength his people exercise — it is both/and, not either/or.
  2. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 — Paul's thorn: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." When Paul is weak, he is strong in Christ.
  3. The Holy Spirit works not in an undefined vacuum but with the concrete material of Christ and the promises of God; weakness opens the Christian's ears to those promises in a fresh and transforming way.
  4. At the last day Christ will say, "Well done, good and faithful servant" — yet the glory of the strength by which saints persevered is ascribed entirely to God.

• B. The Grace of God: Our Horn Is Exalted by His Favor (Psalm 89:17b)

  1. "Favor" (Hebrew ratzon) conveys God's goodwill and acceptance — the same word used for God accepting sacrifice (cf. Leviticus 22:19).
  2. When believers lay their hands on Christ through faith — as the broken and contrite offerer lays hands on the sacrifice — God accepts that perfect offering and shines his favor upon the offerer.
  3. The "horn" is a metaphor drawn from the weaponry of a bull or wild ox, symbolizing strength in battle; it is exalted when God's favor rests on his people (cf. Hannah's song, 1 Samuel 2:1).
  4. As with Hannah — mocked by Peninnah yet exalted by God's favor — believers are already more than conquerors in Christ even while being ridiculed or held in contempt, with full consummation awaiting Christ's return.

• C. The King of God: Our Shield Belongs to the Lord (Psalm 89:18)

  1. This verse draws everything back to the psalm's governing theme: the Davidic covenant and Yahweh's anointed king — serving as a natural bridge into the covenant recital of verses 19–37.
  2. Christ fulfills this as both priest and king: as priest he offers himself as the perfect sacrifice so that God's favor exalts our horn; as conquering king his victory exalts us over every enemy.
  3. With Christ's coming, 1 Samuel 2:30 receives its fullest expression — the Father declares, "This is my Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him" (Matthew 17:5); to honor Christ the anointed King is to receive the Father's honor and favor.